Kids & Family

A Year Ago: Tropical Storm Irene's Visit to Swampscott

The enduring lesson was prepare for the worst.

 

Monday at was a tranquil day, a stark contrast to the bustle at the beach's boat ramp exactly one year ago.

On Monday, a few gulls cried at the shore. They lifted their beaks and let go rapid high-pitched cries that slowed to silence.

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One hundred motor boats and sailboats sat almost still at their harbor moorings.

Women sat on beach chairs reading and chatting.

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A young man tossed a triangular boomerang into the onshore breeze. It stretched to the sea like an elastic before dutifully returning.

The temperature was perfect. The sky blue. The air smelled faintly of salt, mud, sea shells and seaweed.

A year ago, the day before turbulent seas churned by the remants of Hurricane Irene arrived, boatramp.

Mooring man Harris Tibbetts and Swampscott Yacht Club members helped fellow boat owners navigate the tricky ramp.

During a lull in the activity from the past.

DPW had already from the pier's end, the director not wanting to chance their loss in the storm.

Some of the first boats to leave the harbor were the commercial lobstermen's vessels.

A few dozen boats remained chained to their moorings.

A day later the worst of the storm in

The twisting and surging from moorings.

A few were and destroyed.

Seven or eight drifted where a crowd had gathered.

The crowd included many who had come to witness the spectacle of large empty boats ridden high and tilted on the shore, their masts poking at odd angles and keels bearing a heavy burden.

The crowd also included boat owners and friends hauling chains, anchors and rope to rescue or secure the boats.

Some to stay their boats before they crashed against rocks or ran aground at the shore.

The .

Some boat owners needed minor repairs; others more extensive repairs.

Some of them bought new boats.

In talking to boat owners on Monday, several of them said that a lesson many people took away from Irene — whether their boats were torn loose from moorings or not — was that it's best to err on the side of caution.

When a bad storm is predicted it's best to get your boat to a safe harbor or out of the water, if possible, they said.

It also appears that, in a pinch, nothing beats helping hands working as a team.


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